Rubio Breaking Silence On Plans For His Political Future

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., will be seeking re-election to his U.S. Senate seat, reversing an earlier decision to return to private life.

Rubio, who waged an unsuccessful campaign for the Republican nomination for president, was scheduled to make his announcement Wednesday.

Rubio had decided not to seek re-election when he made his decision to run for president. However, in the wake of his withdrawal from the race, he was urged by Republican leaders to reconsider that decision.

“No matter who’s elected president, there’s reason to worry,” he told the Miami Herald. “If it’s Hillary Clinton, you know we’re going to have four more years of the same failed economic policies, four more years of the same failed foreign policy. … The prospect of a (Trump) presidency is also worrisome to me in many ways. It’s no secret that I have significant disagreements with Donald.”

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“I think that the point that really drove me to change my mind is that as we enter this kind of new chapter in our history here is, there’s another role the Senate plays that I think can be really important in the years to come,” Rubio added. “And that’s the power given to it in the Constitution to act as a check and balance on the excess of the president. It’s even more important given the fact that control of the Senate could very well come down to what happens in the Florida race.”

Florida Lt. Gov. Carlos López-Cantera has reportedly told Rubio that he will withdraw from the Republican ticket if Rubio files to run. One other candidate has already withdrawn, although others have said they will remain in the race, meaning Rubio would have to win the GOP primary in August.